Postal Service

The U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Service is owned and operated by the U.S. government. Post offices have individual listed phone numbers at which they can be contacted. The U.S. Postal Service picks up mail from and delivers mail to private residential mailboxes. Mail is picked up and delivered Monday-Saturday. Post office hours vary, but most open between 7:30 & 9AM Monday-Friday and close between 5 & 6:30PM. Saturdays, they open between 7:30 and 10AM and close between 12noon & 4PM. Some post offices are open Sundays for several hours. The post office is closed for 10 holidays each year. The price of a domestic stamp is 44 cents USD (47 cents AUD). The cost to mail a letter to Australia is 98 cents USD ($1.05 AUD). Mail forwarding is a free service.

Australia Post
Australia Post is a private company. Post offices do not have listed phone numbers. If you want to contact a post office, you have to call the national line. Australia post only delivers mail to private residential mailboxes; it does not pick it up. If you want to mail something, you have to take it to a street mailbox. Mail is picked up and delivered Monday-Friday. Post offices are open 9AM-5PM Monday-Friday and 9AM-12noon on Saturdays. The post office is closed for 11-13 holidays a year, including Good Friday, Easter Saturday, and Easter Monday. The price of a domestic stamp is 55 cents AUD (51 cents USD). The cost to mail a letter to the U.S. is $2.10 AUD ($1.95 USD). The cost of having your mail forwarded is $13.50 for 1 month, $25.50 for 3 months, $37 for 6 months, and $68 AUD for a year ($11.26, $21.27, $30.86, and $56.73 USD).